like laser application, prosthesis placements, and dilatation of tracheobronchial strictures. The RB allows exible bronchoscopes to get through it, taking advantage of both instruments at the same time.

Ancillary Equipment

Suction Catheters  They play a very important role during procedures. In addition to suction of blood, smokes, and debris, they are useful in palpating lesions to give an idea on consistency. They are also used to instillate medications such as saline, epinephrine, and lidocaine. It is recommended that they do not exceed 3 mm in diameter, and are made of rigid transparent material. In

that way the laser beam will not burn them, and they will not collapse during suction.

Other ancillary instruments that should be available are: foreign bodies rigid forceps (used to retrieve different elements from the airway and to adjust position of silicone stents), scissors, scalpel, balloons, mechanical dilators, endoscopic resectors, and prostheses and laser equipment, most of them designed by Dumon (Fig. 4.10).

The capability of project images is very important as well. That serves various purposes: it allows all the team to follow the procedure in detail and anticipate steps. It also permits recording the procedure, for both educational and documentation purposes.